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Stop Clearcutting California's Future
The Battle Creek Alliance is dedicated to protecting the public trust resources of water, air, soil and wildlife, protecting diversity and raising public awareness through education.
There are a number of companies clearcutting in California. Our focus is the Battle Creek watershed, just west of Lassen Park in Shasta and Tehama Counties, although we also work on stopping clearcutting throughout the state.
"What you destroy today, you might regret tomorrow" Dave Pirner, Soul Asylum
"Better to not destroy it, and have no regrets"
Battle Creek Alliance
_________________________________________________________________
from Skovbo ©Viggo Mortensen/Perceval Press
Water + Air + Soil + Climate = LIFE
Clearcutting Impacts Them All
A clearcut up close. Multiply this by hundreds or thousands when looking at the aerial images.
Battle Creek in the news:
Taxpayers Carry $18 million for Timber Industry
The aerial image below shows what the Battle Creek watershed west of Lassen Volcanic Nat'l Park looked like in the late 90s, before the start of the excessive clearcutting that began in 1998.
The next satellite image shows the same area in 2009.
Each brown hole is a clearcut of between 14 and 27 acres.
Highway 44 on the north and Highway 36 on the south are the approximate boundaries of the Battle Creek watershed.
This image shows over 13,000 acres of clearcuts from 16 different timber harvest plans between Manton and Highway 44. There are 6,000 more acres of projects planned for the area that have not been cut yet. As of April 2011, 3 of those 4 projects have begun being cut.
Sierra Pacific Industries (SPI) owns this land as well as 1.7 million acres, or 58%, of the industrial timberland in the state. SPI has already cut, or has plans to cut, the majority of those acres. There are other companies clearcutting too.
By law, the cumulative impacts of interrelated, adjacent projects must be analyzed. Yet, by subdividing the watershed into 9 "subwatersheds" each of the 16 timber harvest plans has been evaluated as if it were the only project.
This is illegal as well as ecologically disastrous.
SPI's self-expressed plans are to return in 5 to 10 years to cut the biodiverse forests that remain between the clearcuts, and turn them into more monoculture tree plantations. This is being allowed to happen in watersheds throughout California.
Go to our "What you can do" page to contact Governor Jerry Brown and Secretary of Natural Resources John Laird about this destruction. Or, a fast way to send comments is at:
http://www.pelicannetwork.net/stopclearcut.htm
Battle Creek is one of the largest tributaries of the Sacramento River and one of the few places left for wild run salmon.
The Chinook Salmon population has been declining rapidly. The $125 millon Salmon Restoration Project is downstream of the pictured clearcuts. Lassen National Forest and Park are just east of here.
To view a scrollable map of the clear cutting throughout the Sierra Nevada range go to: www.sierraforest.org
See more Google Earth images on our
Google images page
Deforestation is a major cause of climate disruption. The US has lost a higher percentage of its forest cover than either Canada or Brazil.
The Battle Creek Alliance is dedicated to protecting the public trust resources of water, air, soil and wildlife, protecting diversity and raising public awareness through education.
There are a number of companies clearcutting in California. Our focus is the Battle Creek watershed, just west of Lassen Park in Shasta and Tehama Counties, although we also work on stopping clearcutting throughout the state.
"What you destroy today, you might regret tomorrow" Dave Pirner, Soul Asylum
"Better to not destroy it, and have no regrets"
Battle Creek Alliance
_________________________________________________________________
from Skovbo ©Viggo Mortensen/Perceval Press
Water + Air + Soil + Climate = LIFE
Clearcutting Impacts Them All
A clearcut up close. Multiply this by hundreds or thousands when looking at the aerial images.
Battle Creek in the news:
Taxpayers Carry $18 million for Timber Industry
http://www.sacbee.com/2011/06/19/3711308/troubled-waters-of-battle-creek.html
http://www.sacbee.com/2011/06/21/3715189/governor-needs-to-keep-pledge.html
The aerial image below shows what the Battle Creek watershed west of Lassen Volcanic Nat'l Park looked like in the late 90s, before the start of the excessive clearcutting that began in 1998.
The next satellite image shows the same area in 2009.
Each brown hole is a clearcut of between 14 and 27 acres.
Highway 44 on the north and Highway 36 on the south are the approximate boundaries of the Battle Creek watershed.
This image shows over 13,000 acres of clearcuts from 16 different timber harvest plans between Manton and Highway 44. There are 6,000 more acres of projects planned for the area that have not been cut yet. As of April 2011, 3 of those 4 projects have begun being cut.
Sierra Pacific Industries (SPI) owns this land as well as 1.7 million acres, or 58%, of the industrial timberland in the state. SPI has already cut, or has plans to cut, the majority of those acres. There are other companies clearcutting too.
By law, the cumulative impacts of interrelated, adjacent projects must be analyzed. Yet, by subdividing the watershed into 9 "subwatersheds" each of the 16 timber harvest plans has been evaluated as if it were the only project.
This is illegal as well as ecologically disastrous.
SPI's self-expressed plans are to return in 5 to 10 years to cut the biodiverse forests that remain between the clearcuts, and turn them into more monoculture tree plantations. This is being allowed to happen in watersheds throughout California.
Go to our "What you can do" page to contact Governor Jerry Brown and Secretary of Natural Resources John Laird about this destruction. Or, a fast way to send comments is at:
http://www.pelicannetwork.net/stopclearcut.htm
Battle Creek is one of the largest tributaries of the Sacramento River and one of the few places left for wild run salmon.
The Chinook Salmon population has been declining rapidly. The $125 millon Salmon Restoration Project is downstream of the pictured clearcuts. Lassen National Forest and Park are just east of here.
To view a scrollable map of the clear cutting throughout the Sierra Nevada range go to: www.sierraforest.org
See more Google Earth images on our
Google images page
Deforestation is a major cause of climate disruption. The US has lost a higher percentage of its forest cover than either Canada or Brazil.
Clearcutting and the subsequent herbicide use have obvious impacts on endangered and threatened species, but they affect all species, including our own.
Animals found in California forests include: porcupines, bald eagles, wolverines and red fox. Due to the many changes to habitat, these species and many others are struggling for survival.
Clearcutting and the use of heavy equipment and all of the activities associated with it, as well as herbicide use before and after logging to kill native vegetation, depletes and destroys the soil. Aside from the negative effects of compaction and erosion, roads are the largest cause of sediment deposits in streams. Sedimentation has a detrimental effect on water quality and aquatic wildlife.
The difference between a forest and a tree plantation:
Above: The remaining acres between 2 clearcut units. By law, this can be cut 5 years after the completion of the earlier clearcuts.
Below: The 2 year old replanted trees in one of the adjacent units that had been clearcut.
The difference between a forest and a tree plantation:
Above: The remaining acres between 2 clearcut units. By law, this can be cut 5 years after the completion of the earlier clearcuts.
Below: The 2 year old replanted trees in one of the adjacent units that had been clearcut.
Clear cutting uses smaller crews as does automation of mills, thereby costing jobs. Job losses to automation far exceed any due to environmental protection requirements.
This huge modern tree killer is called a feller-buncher.
It kills jobs also, using 1 person in the place of a crew of 5 or more, an 80% loss of jobs.
It kills jobs also, using 1 person in the place of a crew of 5 or more, an 80% loss of jobs.
Clearcutting is currently legal on private land, but while private rights are important, they can not be at the expense of the majority of the people's needs, health and welfare.
California state laws provide that the water, air, fish, and wildlife belong to all the citizens of the state.
Many species of animals on the ground and in the air, including this Golden Eagle, need mature forests to live in.
Estimates for the amount of Old Growth remaining: 1-3%
Age when forests start exhibiting old growth characteristics: 200+ years
SPI's length of rotations between timber harvests: 50 - 80 years
Possibility of any plantations becoming old growth: 0%
Thousand Lakes Wilderness. Clearcutting and plantation conversion means that no trees will ever have enough time to grow this large. The old growth from the past is almost gone and the middle- aged growth that could become old growth someday is being cut long before it can achieve that.
Many species of animals on the ground and in the air, including this Golden Eagle, need mature forests to live in.
Estimates for the amount of Old Growth remaining: 1-3%
Age when forests start exhibiting old growth characteristics: 200+ years
SPI's length of rotations between timber harvests: 50 - 80 years
Possibility of any plantations becoming old growth: 0%
Thousand Lakes Wilderness. Clearcutting and plantation conversion means that no trees will ever have enough time to grow this large. The old growth from the past is almost gone and the middle- aged growth that could become old growth someday is being cut long before it can achieve that.
Funding generously provided by: The Rose Foundation, California Wildlands Grassroots Fund and Fund for Wild Nature
Your tax-deductible contributions will help our work to save
California's forests from deforestation.
Donate using Google Checkout below
California's forests from deforestation.
Donate using Google Checkout below
Our goal
is to ensure that the true environmental impacts are being analyzed. With this analysis, permanent damage to the resources that belong to everyone can be averted.
For the present, for the future.
Aerial view of Lassen clear cuts.
Lassen Volcanic National Park is at the top of the photo.
If you prefer to donate using PayPal, please visit our other website, www.StopClearcuttingCalifornia.org.
Mail checks to: SOL, Inc.
PO Box 225
Montgomery Creek, CA 96065
Signal of Love, Inc is a 501 (c) (3)
Mail checks to: SOL, Inc.
PO Box 225
Montgomery Creek, CA 96065
Signal of Love, Inc is a 501 (c) (3)
